Occupy Wall Street is movement that is spreading like a wildfire. This brief article is not meant to render a judgment on the movement itself. Rather, it is to take issue with fellow Y!CN Contributor’s, Don Pennington’s gift to help his friends at Occupy Wall Street.
Mr. Pennington offers his gift to help his at occupy Wall Street in this article: To My friends at Occupy Wall St; A Gift to Help You.
First of all, the piece seems over generalized. For example, it seems to imply that all active participants “these folks are bussed in by labor unions and other Communist and collectivist interests.” Also, it seems to give the false implication that everyone that has more money than another “did work much smarter.”
Between my initial typing and this publication, It appears that Mr. Pennington has edited his piece to include the word, many. It now reads: “many of these folks are bussed in by labor unions and other Communist and collectivist interests.” For this I say thank you!
However, the greatest problem that I find with this piece is with the very gift that Mr. Pennington offers to help his friends at occupy Wall Street. His gift is a mantra of sorts. The words he uses are, “The world doesn’t owe me anything.” This mantra is mentioned five times in his piece. Mr. Pennington suggests to his readers and his friends at Occupy Wall Street to post these words in a variety of places in their everyday surroundings so as to promote the repeated mental recitation of allegiance to this statement.
On July 4, 1776, The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress. Its written word seems to run counter to Mr. Pennington’s written opinion. The Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
This notion of freedom and equality as it pertains being endowed by a Creator with certain unalienable rights was further defined with the adoption of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution.. These Amendments proclaimed that freedom and equality were guaranteed expressly to all regardless “of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” 1 United States v. Reese, 92 U.S. 214, 218. Bell v. Maryland, 378 U.S.226 (1964).
Mr Pennington closes his article, suggesting that the world does not owe me anything mantra is “the kind of simple truth which really can set someone free, but only those who have the courage to accept it.” With that in mind, I ask you to imagine such a world where everyone strictly adhered to the concept of that the world does not owe me anything. Without the right to life, without the right to liberty and without the right to the pursuit of happiness, it is hard to understand how people are set free.
In fairness to Mr. Pennington, upon publication of this article, I will email him a link to this article in order to give him the opportunity to rebuke my thoughts as he see fits. Mr. Pennington is a wise man and I expect that he will be able to find a way to counter punch my thoughts.
However you may feel about this topic, I hope that you will comment on this article and then read Mr. Pennington’s piece and leave a comment as well. His article can be found here:
To My friends at Occupy Wall St; A Gift to Help You.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_history.html
http://www.gemworld.com/USA-Unalienable.htm